All the times the U.S. presidents said they would end the war in Afghanistan

U.S. presidents: Ending the war in Afghanistan since 2014.

Transcript

00:00This year, we will bring America's longest war to a responsible end.

00:05As we speak, the United States is also working to end the war in Afghanistan.

00:10It's time to end America's longest war.

00:17Today, I signed a historic agreement between the United States and Afghanistan

00:21that defines a new kind of relationship between our countries,

00:25a future in which war ends and a new chapter begins.

00:29We are continuing to reduce troops in Afghanistan.

00:32We're working with Pakistan and others on getting an agreement signed, as you know.

00:37When I came to office, I inherited a diplomatic agreement

00:42duly negotiated between the government of the United States and the Taliban

00:47that all U.S. forces would be out of Afghanistan by May 1, 2021,

00:54just three months after my inauguration.

00:57The full cost of fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

01:01For seven years, we've been a nation at war. No longer will we hide its price.

01:06We will forge a new and comprehensive strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan

01:11to defeat al Qaeda and combat extremism.

01:14Afghanistan, 19 years I think is long enough, but we're serving as policemen, right?

01:19We cannot continue the cycle of extending or expanding our military presence in Afghanistan,

01:25hoping to create ideal conditions for the withdrawal and expecting a different result.

01:32Here in Lisbon, we agreed that early 2011 will mark the beginning of a transition to Afghan responsibility.

01:39And we adopted the goal of Afghan forces taking the lead for security across the country by the end of 2014.

01:46The American people are weary of war without victory.

01:53Nowhere is this more evident than with the war in Afghanistan, the longest war in American history, 17 years.

02:03I'm now the fourth United States president to preside over American troop presence in Afghanistan.

02:09Two Republicans, two Democrats. I will not pass this responsibility onto a fifth.

02:16In the coming months, I'll announce the next phase of our drawdown.

02:20And by the end of next year, America's war in Afghanistan will be over.

02:25Everyone said that if I was elected, I'd be at war in one week. It's been just the opposite.

02:30We're doing very well in Afghanistan, bringing the troops down very low level.

02:34U.S. troops, as well as forces deployed by our NATO allies and operational partners,

02:40will be out of Afghanistan before we mark the 20th anniversary of that heinous attack on September 11th.

02:47This year, we will bring America's longest war to a responsible end.

02:54The United States did not seek this fight. We went into Afghanistan out of necessity.

03:01We were supposed to be in Afghanistan for a short period of time.

03:05We're now going to be there for close to 19 years. It's time to bring them home.

03:10We went to Afghanistan because of a horrific attack that happened 20 years ago.

03:16That cannot explain why we should remain there in 2021.